Under a Starry Canopy
by QueenHimiko
Summary: Set after the 15th novel, Lina and Gourry talk about companions and courtship and explore the nature of their changing relationship. Lime-ish, nothing explicit that warrants an MA rating. Thanks to pharoah999 for betaing!


**AN: I do not own Slayers!**

**After finally reading some translations of the later novels I wanted to do something where Lina and Gourry process what has happened. And I needed a break from all of the family drama that I was writing. Here is the result! **

**Warning, this does contain adult themes and suggestions but I do not think it warrants an MA warning.**

Quietly she unfolded the soft cotton blanket, grabbing it by the hem before swinging it out to be caught by the gentle evening breeze. It billowed from her hands as she swiftly set it to the ground and soothed the lumps so that it lay flat upon the grass. Before the wind could pick up she had laid herself down on her back, pillowing her head upon her arms as she gazed at the stars.

Lina did not have much time alone with her thoughts. She could feel the vibration as the earth moved under his footsteps as he came closer to her. She diverted her attention from studying the heavens to observe him from the corner of her eyes as he sat beside her before stretching out on his back. He was so close that even though they were not touching she could feel the heat of his body. Had he never lain so close to her before, or was it just the first time she had bothered to focus on his presence?

She took a deep breath to quiet her racing heart, hoping that he could not hear it, as she resumed her star gazing, wondering why she was suddenly feeling like some star struck school girl. They'd been traveling together for over two years. They could tease each other comfortably. They trusted each other implicitly. She was so used to feeling at home with him that it was slightly disorienting to realize that under a dark canopy bejeweled with stars she was feeling nervous.

She exhaled, wondering where the anxious feeling was originating from. It wasn't as if they were traveling to Zefiria to get married. It was to satisfy Gourry's hunger for grapes! Or was it?

And did she want it to be the former?

The tingling nervous sensation in her stomach narrowed and settled into her spine, warm and pleasant. It was not the bad set of nerves that descended before a fight with a mazoku. No, this was suspense laced with anticipation, and it was thrilling in its exhilaration. Would he make a move? And how would she respond?

He remained still as she grew as taunt as a string. She swiftly concluded that she could no longer stand the silence. "Do you think she loved him?"

"Who?" he asked.

"Milina." Lina clarified quietly, "Do you think she loved Luke? I asked her once why she traveled with him, and she really didn't explain."

"She didn't act like she did." He replied.

"But why travel with him if she didn't love him?" Lina asked.

"So you can't think of any reason a woman would travel with a man if she didn't love him?"

Lina felt her face flush and was grateful that under the stars he could not see her blush. Somehow she felt as though he had cornered her into a wall and she struggled to find some leverage. Before she could speak she sensed that he was moving beside her, and then she felt his hand rest atop hers, warm and calloused.

She closed her eyes as his touch drove the feeling of titillation to new heights. She understood that the ball was in her court. She could punch him away from her and reclaim her space. She could withdrawal her hand, and he would pick up on her subtle hint. Or she could embrace what he was offering by turning her hand palm up to hold his. She took a deep breath as passion coursed through her. She didn't want to let the feeling go. The events of the past few months had left their mark, and regardless of whether or not Milina loved Luke, she realized that she did not want the feelings she had for Gourry to go unacknowledged.

She opened her eyes as she turned her hand, grasping his lightly, giving him permission to continue. Despite the novelty of holding hands with him under a starry canopy, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to do. "Well, maybe she sensed the soul of Shabranigdo lurking within him and realized that by staying with him she could tame it. Or maybe she just didn't want to travel alone. No one likes to be alone."

They shared a quiet moment as she waited intently for his next move. Finally he said, "This must be weighing on your mind a lot."

"How can it not? It's just, I can't think of which would be more sad, if she did love him and he never knew she returned his feelings, or if she really didn't and he was just wasting his time."

"Time is never wasted when you're with the woman you love, even if she doesn't feel the same way." He said, and Lina felt her breathing slow least she miss anything he said. "Still, Luke was a bit of an idiot with how he went about courting her."

Lina shivered as the heat that clung to world started to extinguish under the night. It was the season when the days were warm and pleasant enough, but the nights were frigid. Daringly she snuggled closer to him and his warmth. "What do you mean?"

Was it her imagination, or did it seem to take him a few moments to collect his thoughts? She was close enough to feel as he inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. "Well," he began, his voice slightly higher than usual, "When you find you're in love with a woman, you have to figure out how she feels. Because maybe she feels the same way and maybe she doesn't. So you do small tests, simple innocent touches and see how she responds. And if she hits you, then you retreat and wait. You work to be the best man that you can and hope that one day she sees you the same way. And in a few months you try another innocent touch and see how responds."

Slowly he put an arm around her, holding her close to him, "And when she returns your touch, then you progress to more intimate moves. You let her set the pace, because you don't want to scare her away, you don't want to risk doing anything to drive her away once you have found her."

Lina closed her eyes as shivers ran rampant down her spine as he traced a finger up and down her arm. "But what you don't do." Gourry continued, "Is annoy her with words of love before she's ready."

He turned so that he was on his side facing her, and Lina felt her heart race and thump so loudly in her head that it drowned out all thoughts but one. "Gourry?" she whispered, "Why do you really want to go to Zefiria all of the sudden?"

He leaned towards her, and before she could fully process what she was doing she had opened her mouth to receive his kiss. It was not the gentle and chaste kiss that she had always expected her first would be. No, it was steeped in years of passion and unacknowledged love. Lina felt as though a floodgate between them had been unleashed and nothing could stop the coming tide. How long had he silently harbored feelings for her?

He wrapped his arms around her as she enthusiastically returned the kiss. Slowly she became aware that her own arms, pinned against his chest, were an unwelcome barrier between them. But where to put them? Experimentally she moved the right one up, over, and around his shoulder to grasp his back while the left snaked between the little space between them and the ground to nestle in the back of his head, getting tangled in his soft hair, pushing him closer to deepen the kiss.

Eventually she realized that her desire to consume him was warring with her need to breath. As she broke away to inhale he seized the opportunity to suckle on her earlobe. The sounds he elicited from the action surprised her as a series of high pitched mewing sounds escaped from her lips as the thrill of passion swelled to new heights within her. Embarrassment coursed through her until she heard him growl with desire and realized that it was fueling his own ardor, and she gave herself permission to fully express the effect he was having on her.

His hands started to roam her body as he moved his kisses to her jaw line. She sighed as she lifted her left leg and wrapped it around him. A wave of heat fueled desire that was practically painful rose through her as he rode against her, and despite the layers of clothes she could feel his arousal. The contrast of the cold air against her skin was stark against the warmth of where he held her, and despite the cool night the impulse to shed her clothing and merge with him was overwhelming.

From the distance a low howling sound arose, a reminder as sharp as an ice cold bath that they were not alone in the night. He stopped moving as he gripped her tightly, and she opened her eyes to see that his were closed, his brow furrowed as he looked to be waging an internal war with himself. He took a few deep ragged breaths before rolling off of her, his eyes back to gazing at the stars. Before she could worry about being rejected her grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "May be grapes aren't the only thing I'm hungering for." He whispered, his voice husky.

Lina squeezed her legs together as she strove to deal with the unresolved tension coursing through her body. "Then why did you stop?"

"Out in the open like this, we're sitting targets."

She exhaled as she realized he was right. It was something she was usually more cognizant of. Camping out was always more risky than staying in an inn. Usually when they had to they took it in shifts. The dangers ranged from bandits to goblins to mazoku, and none were things they wanted to face while caught off guard. Years of traveling had taught her to never let her guard down, and it was a little scary how he was able to wrap her up so thoroughly in him that she had forgotten that.

"I'll take first watch." He said, "You go on and catch some sleep."

Lina wondered how she was going to get any sleep now. She was wound up so tightly she didn't think that it was possible to calm down until they took things to its natural conclusion. But then maybe it was better this way. It gave her a break to process the shift their relationship was taking, not to mention to ponder about whether or not to rent one or two rooms whenever they would finally hit another town.

"Okay." She breathed as she stood up and straightened her clothing. As cavalierly as possible she made her way to the tent and then stopped once she had opened the flap. "Gourry."

"Yes?"

She turned to face him. He was sitting knees to chest with his head resting on them, looking just as tense as she was feeling. And while the upcoming night would be hard as hell, tossing and turning while aching for him, she did not want to night to end without this much being said. "I want you to know, in case anything happens to me, that I love you."

Even under the dim light of the sky she could see his eyes widen. "You're making it very hard for me to let you walk in there alone." He said quietly. "Because I love you, too."

She smiled at him and then, lightheaded with romance, she walked into the tent.


End file.
